Broadcast Messages on Win XP - How do I turn them off?

[andersonwd]

It's driving me crazy! Help???

Thanks,
Sherry

[satis]

are you talking about the messenger service? Basically a popup box with (probably) ads or whatever?

Go to start | all programs | administrative tools | computer management

then go to 'services and applications' and then services. On the right pane, find 'messenger'. Double-click on it and set the startup type to 'disabled'. That should take care of it. Note that, if you're on some sort of LAN, this will kill any net send messages you get.

Alternatively, get a firewall that blocks the messenger ports. Those are ports 135, 136-139 and 445. Note that blocking these ports on the computer will kill your ability to share file and printers... if you're on a network, you should block those ports on your router.

[Rick_E]

If you use a free firewall such as ZoneAlarm (http://zonelabs.com) you can go to the Program settings and block all activity for the Messenger program.

[andersonwd]

Thanks for the responses. It's my personal computer, so no firewall or network. Everyone I know who has Win XP says that they had never dealt with these things. The funny thing is that all of the popup ads are ads about how to get rid of the messages. Go figure! :)

Thanks again. You've saved me a lot of future irritations.

Sherry

[Rick_E]

It makes good sense to run ZoneAlarm even on your personal computer. For example it prevents the Blaster Worm.

[andersonwd]

I'm new to Windows XP. I certainly appreciate the advice and will look into it.

Thanks again.

Sherry